ROCKLAND (UPDATED Aug. 15) — A Rockland man who was arrested Aug. 11 following an investigation into several burglaries and arson in three residential areas, remains in jail as of Aug. 15.

Raheem A. James, 26, was charged by Rockland Police with arson, burglary, criminal attempt, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, and violating a condition of release.

James made his initial appearance on the charges Aug. 12 in Knox Court Unified Court. His bail was initially set at $1,000 cash, but was raised to $5,000 cash, with no third party bail allowed, at the request of Assistant District Attorney Lynn Madison. Judge Paul Mathews approved the increase in the bail amount.

If James is released on bail, he will be on supervised release and not allowed to return to Grace, Masonic, or Highland streets, except to travel to and from work. James is also ordered to follow a curfew, upon his release from jail, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The following is the timeline of the investigation by Rockland Police into several burglaries occurring since May 1, according to the affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court by police.

May 1: Police received a report of a burglary on Masonic Street. Their investigation found that an unknown person entered the home through an unlocked rear door while the victim was asleep upstairs. Police said that money and cigarettes were stolen and no physical evidence was discovered.

Police received another report of a burglary on Grace Street, on an abutting property to the previous burglary earlier that day. The suspect entered the home through a closed and unlocked window while the homeowners were away at the time. A ring valued at $600 was stolen. A DNA swab of the suspect’s handprint on the window was taken and sent to the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta for analysis, according to the police report.  

May 25: Police responded to the report of another incident on Masonic Street after the homeowner reported they saw a person attempting to unlock their back door. Police said the suspect was scared off when the homeowner turned on the outside lights.

May 31: Police responded to a home on Highland Street for a report of an attempted burglary. The home was in close proximity to the previous burglary locations. The owner reported having seen something outside the home. Police discovered that the suspect had removed the screen by burning a hole in it, in order to gain access to the latches on the screen. Shoeprints were found on the front porch, along with two cigarette butts, both the same brand, and appeared fresh, police said.

Police collected the cigarette butts as evidence and the latch to the window screen was swabbed for DNA. All of the items were also sent to the Maine State Police Crime Lab for analysis.

June 1: Police responded again to Grace Street for a late report of a burglary. It was reported that someone during the past several days had entered a vacant, unlocked house and stole keys and a bottle of alcohol.

On the same day, the victim of the first burglary on Masonic Street reported that she had a video from a security trail camera she installed after the first burglary May 1. The video showed that on May 31 at approximately 5:22 a.m. (the same day and shortly after the attempted burglary at a residence on Highland Street was suspected to have occurred), a male was seen walking into the same backyard as the previous burglary and stole some cigarettes from the back steps outside the back door, the point of entry that police said was used in the incident.

The male suspect in the video was identified as James who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and Vans shoes which police said had the same tread found on the front porch of an attempted burglary on Highland Street.

June 5: Police obtained an arrest warrant for the May 31 burglary on Masonic Street. Police also obtained a search warrant for James’ DNA.

June 6: James was arrested on a warrant. Police said he invoked his rights not to answer any questions at that time. They obtained a DNA sample and submitted it to the Maine crime lab for comparison to the DNA found at the scenes of the other previous burglaries, according to the affidavit.

June 25: Police responded to a residence on Masonic Street after they received a report that a male was trying to get into the home. Police were not able to locate a suspect.

July 7: Police responded to another residence on Masonic Street where a resident said someone was attempting to enter the home through the back door and was scared off. Police checked the area and found James walking around and coming from the Masonic Street neighborhood. James denied any involvement in the burglary, police said.

July 12: Police responded again to Masonic Street after they received a report that a male was trying to get into the residence. No suspect was located.

Aug. 9: A resident living on Masonic Street notified police that on the previous day, a male was seen on the surveillance camera approaching the door at the home. Police said that the male appears to notice the camera and leaves. They identified the suspect as James.

Aug. 11: A resident living on Grace Street notified police that a male was seen on security footage walking up a driveway and turning around. The suspect’s face is not seen, but police said the physical description matched James.

A break in the case came later that day when police were notified by the state police crime lab that they matched James’ DNA to a hand print on the window of a Grace Street home of the May 1 burglary. There was also a DNA match to a cigarette butt found outside of a Highland Street home during another incident. The other DNA samples sent to the lab were inconclusive.

Based on the evidence, Rockland Police Detective Sgt. Alex Gaylor obtained a warrant and arrested James who was transported to the Knox County Jail.

James is scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 12 for a dispositional conference.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

A Rockland resident has been arrested following an investigation into several burglaries that occurred in the Grace Street and Masonic Street area over the last several months. 

On Aug. 11, 2020, Rockland Police Officers arrested Raheem James, 26, of Rockland. 

The following charges are the result of an investigation into James: Burglary, class B; Attempted Burglary, class C; Arson, class A; Theft, class D; and Violations of Conditions of Release, class E. 

Rockland Police are still investigating a reported burglary and several reported attempted burglaries in that area. Anyone with any information regarding these burglaries is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Alex Gaylor at Agaylor@RocklandMaine.Gov or by calling 207-594-0316 Ext. 253. 

“Even though we do not have DNA at the other burglary that is still open, we are very confident it was perpetrated by the same suspect," said Chief Chris Young in a follow-up.